In this issue:

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The Best of Not In this issue:

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Notes from the Editor

To Lt. Commander Data, this might look like a party. But it is something much, much better! It is knowledge, knowledge in pursuit of pure, programming enjoyment! Let us begin by introducing Alyce Watson's latest hat trick!

All of us know that the most recent versions of Windows allow us to "hot-connect" drives while programs are executing. In API Corner - Drive Strings, Alyce explains how to query the system for the names of all current drives using the GetLogicalDriveStringsA API call. Ultimately, this procedure will cause all the drive names to be placed in a string buffer, after which you can parse it using LB's built-in WORD$() function. See Alyce's demo at the end of the article.

Alyce finds the net a second time in her article, Technical Writing for Everybody, in which she provides excellent tips for writing documentation for your programs. I'm serious: bookmark this article and visit it frequently. Indeed, Alyce has probably forgotten more about writing than the rest of us will ever know! Raise your hand if you frequently disregard Alyce's writing tips. (My own hand is up, friends.)

In Version 11 of Eddie's Lessons, Alyce discusses the use and value of the RTF format for Liberty BASIC code files. As the title of her Eddie series suggests, Eddie's value is two-fold. It's a nifty little code editor, for one. Secondly, her staged roll-out of Eddie gives us a valuable programming insight each month. Marvelous, Alyce!

How many of you out there still handle control events with branch labels instead of SUBs? (Yeah, me too.) Well, bright star Janet Terra provides a terrific article that explains the programming efficiencies to be gained by directing multiple controls to the same SUB. As Janet explains, the SUB is aware which control called it by name, because the control's handle is passed to the SUB. Besides streamlining, this cool capability has other benefits, too! Read the article to find out what those are. Thanks, Janet.

Next, Bill Jennings provides a slick demo that shows how a combobox can be operated using keyboard events rather than mouse events. If your programming experience predates the era of windows and mice, then this demo can help you recreate those types of UI's. Thanks, Bill. (Oh, and write some more demos, too.)

Like a bad penny, Nally shows up again to chat a little more about Wire, the friendly name for the Liberty BASIC Wire Frame Library. In this article, Nally provides reminders and tips, and reviews some of the fundamental ideas that must be understood to make your Wire programming fun and effective.

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I gotta sign off, now campers! It's been fun and everything, but there's some serious eatin' that's gonna take place in a matter of minutes. Ethel just whipped up a whole mess of barbeque shrimp, just like they make at Pascal's Manale on Napolean Avenue. Don't let your brother eat it all, Ethel! I'm comin'!

Liberty BASIC Newsletter 142 is now secure. Nally out.

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